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Arroz con leche
Rice pudding
Creamy cinnamon rice pudding, served warm or chilled
Arroz con leche is Mexico's comfort pudding, sold in little cups at markets and made in every grandmother's kitchen: rice cooked first in water with a cinnamon stick (canela) and lime peel, then slowly in milk until it turns thick and creamy. Mexicans often add sweetened condensed milk for a richer, caramel-tinged finish, and raisins for those who like them. It is eaten warm in winter and cold from the fridge in summer, dusted with ground cinnamon. Chef's tip: use soft Ceylon cinnamon (canela) if you can find it; its gentle, floral flavour is what makes it taste Mexican rather than like a spiced pudding.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 5 ½ oz long-grain white ricerinsed
- 1 cinnamon stickCeylon (canela), about 10 cm
- 1 lime peela wide strip, no white pith
- 4 ¼ cups whole milk
- 7 oz sweetened condensed milkabout half a tin
- 2 tbsp caster sugarto taste
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ⅜ oz raisins (optional)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamonto dust
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Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Rinse 5 ½ oz long-grain white rice in a sieve under cold water for 30 seconds and drain. A quick rinse removes loose starch so the pudding is creamy, not gluey.
1 minStep 2: Put the rice, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 lime peel and 500 ml water in a heavy-based saucepan. A heavy pan spreads the heat and is your best defence against scorching later.
1 minStep 3: Bring to the boil, then simmer over a medium-low heat, uncovered, for 10–12 minutes, until the water is almost all absorbed and the grains are swollen and just tender. Cooking in water first lets the rice open up; started in milk it can stay chalky in the middle. The kitchen should smell of cinnamon and lime.
12 minStep 4: Meanwhile warm 4 ¼ cups whole milk in another pan or the microwave until steaming. Adding it warm keeps the pot simmering instead of stopping and starting.
3 minStep 5: Pour the hot milk over the rice, add 1 pinch salt and bring back to a gentle simmer over a medium-low heat.
2 minStep 6: Cook for 15 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom and corners with a heatproof spatula, until the milk has thickened and turned creamy and the rice is very soft. Keep the bubbles small: boiling milk catches and gives the pudding a burnt taste. If you feel it sticking, lower the heat and don't scrape the browned layer into the pudding.
15 minStep 7: Stir in 7 oz sweetened condensed milk, 2 tbsp caster sugar and 1 ⅜ oz raisins and cook for 5 minutes more, stirring. The pudding should look like loose porridge and slowly fall from the spoon.
5 minStep 8: Stop while it is still looser than you want: it thickens a lot as it cools. If it is already thick, stir in a splash of milk.
1 minStep 9: Take off the heat, stir in 1 tsp vanilla extract and remove the cinnamon stick and lime peel.
1 minStep 10: To serve warm, spoon into bowls and dust with ¼ tsp ground cinnamon.
1 minStep 11: To serve cold, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, cool and chill for at least 2 hours. Loosen with a little milk before serving and dust with the rest of ¼ tsp ground cinnamon. Keeps 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 10 g
- Carbs
- 54 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does arroz con leche take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of long-grain white rice?
- Any long-grain rice, same amount.
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
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